Morphometry and genetics

Abstract

Several twin and family studies have shown that the influence of genes on brain volume is already evident in childhood. However, the influence of those genes on brain development and structure remains unclear. Most current research was done on candidate gene polymorphisms and their possible associations with brain structural abnormalities in psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder. The polymorphisms are often studied through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and the brain imaging is often done by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Although there are many studies on the effects of gene polymorphisms and structural neuroimaging, a comprehensive review is lacking. Thus, the scope of this chapter is to review the structural imaging genetics studies across several neuropsychiatric disorders. This chapter will review the current literature on imaging genetics studies, provide additional considerations on the imaging genetics studies of suicidal behaviors and childhood onset disorders, and also discuss studies that have investigated rare genetic variants.